Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Red Onions, Parsnips, and Potatoes

It's been a bit chilly around here off and on lately, and I wanted to roast some veggies. They get such a sweet and crunchy flavor that I really enjoy. I just picked some random veggies and ta-da!

I chopped all the veggies to roughly the same size (so they'll cook evenly). Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with foil to ease clean up and spread the veg evenly on the sheet.

Crank the oven to 450 degrees and cook the veggies for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your veggies. Finish with a little olive oil before serving. Enjoy!

Goat Cheese and Sun dried Tomato stuffed Chicken Breast

This was a creating a la Eric. A friend had made this for him before, so we just tried to recreate it as best we could. It turned out so good!!

You'll need to butterfly your chicken breasts, which means cut them thru the middle horizontally but do NOT cut them totally apart. You just want to kinda fillet them in half so they open like a book page. Good analogy, right???

Goat Cheese and Sun dried Tomato stuffed Chicken Breast

Adapted from Eric <3

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, butterflied

4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature

1/3 c halved sun dried tomatoes in oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Butterfly your chicken breasts as explained so eloquently above. Spread 1/3 of the goat cheese down the middle of the chicken breast. Top with a line of sun dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the chicken breast up and secure with toothpicks to keep the filling in. Season the outside with salt and pepper as well. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.

To cook, heat some olive oil in a skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Cover and let finish cooking at a low temp. Remember to remove the toothpicks before eating!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

We just celebrated a lot of birthdays in the last 2 weeks! Happy Birthday to my Aunts Pami, Kimberle, and Linda as well as my dearest cousin Cassady!!

I wanted to make my aunts some treats but was on a time crunch (hello procrastination...). I used a chocolate fudge box cake mix and then made my own frosting. This buttercream is really yummy and pretty easy- you just throw the ingredients into the mixer and let it go.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from SavorySweetLife.com

Ingredients

1 c unsalted butter, softened

3-4 c powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

up to 4 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Directions

In your mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for a few minutes. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mix on low speed (otherwise you'll be wearing the powdered sugar) until incorporated. Increase the speed and add vanilla, salt and 2 tbsp milk and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If it needs a thinner consistency, add a bit more milk.

I tried my hand at piping again... it went ok. I make a huge mess and am not thrilled with my results. I'm determined to keep trying, however.

Zucchini Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

I was given a 2 foot zucchini by a coworker who has an abundance in her garden. What do you do with that much zucchini? I'm not sure. I shredded the whole thing figuring the best bet was to bake with it. I've now got 9 cups of shredded zucchini in my freezer.

This was an excellent use of that zucchini. I can't believe how moist this cake is and I'm not quite sure why, but I'm enjoying it all the same!

Zucchini Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

*Martha used orange in this recipe, but I sub'd lemon, FYI)

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

2 1/2 c flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground anise seeds (I left this out cause I don't have such a thing)

1/2 tsp ground cardamom (also left this out, sub nutmeg or clove or something)

Pinch of salt

2 medium zucchini (about 2 1/2 c shredded)

3 eggs

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour your bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices and salt.

Grate zucchini and squeeze dry in a kitchen towel or fine mesh strainer.

Stir together eggs and sugar, then stir in melted butter, zucchini, zest and juice. Stir in flour mixture. Transfer batter to your prepared pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes or so then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

1/4 tsp lemon zest

3 tbsp lemon juice

Milk or heavy cream, for thinning

Combine ingredients above minus the milk with a whisk until smooth. Add milk until you get the desired consistency. Spoon onto cake and let set for a few minutes. Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken and Veggie Salad

Been using the BBQ... it's awesome. I had some veggies and chicken I wanted to BBQ and threw them together in a salad.

Things I've learned about BBQ-ing:

- leave the food alone. If you want those pretty grill marks, don't touch it!

- don't put any sauce with sugar in it on the food until the end. Or else, you'll get burnt food.

- let any meat rest before you slice it

Remember these rules and you'll have good food (don't learn the hard way, like me).

Here's how I made the salad:

1 chicken breast, grilled and covered in some BBQ sauce, sliced

Romaine, chopped

Grilled veggies (zucchini, asparagus and yellow bell peppers), chopped

For the dressing

1 tbsp BBQ sauce

1 tsp sweet chili sauce

Slightly spicy and sweet! So good!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

When I lived in San Diego, I'd go to BJ's and get their super spicy buffalo pizza and I still crave it almost 3 years later! I decided to try and make my own. I looked on the web for a couple different ideas and just combined what I liked from those recipes. So easy!!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cooked however you want to

3 tbsp butter, melted

1-2 tbsp hot sauce of your choice (I used Tapatio)

1 tbsp BBQ sauce

1/2 c cheese of your choice

Veggies, whatever you like

1/2 pizza dough (I bought mine from the store and cut it in half)

Directions

Take your dough out of the fridge 20 minutes or so before you want to use it so it can take the chill off. Roll out your dough or use your fingers into the shape you desire and put it on the surface you desire (baking sheet, pizza stone, whatevs). Spread the BBQ sauce on the pizza dough.

Dice the chicken and combine with the melted butter and hot sauce. Top the BBQ sauce with the chicken. Then add the veggies you like and finally, top with the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so until the cheese is bubbly and the bottom of the pizza is slightly browned. Yumm!!

Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Lime Glaze

My friend Jesseca taught me long ago that if you want to fancy up something, put it in a bundt pan. She's right. It immediately makes any cake look prettier because of the shape. Girls, go get yourselves a bundt pan, ok?

Lime Coconut Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Adapted from MyBakingAddiction.com

Ingredients

1 c butter, softened

1 1/2 c sugar

zest of 3 limes

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 c sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)

1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (if you have that), cream the butter until smooth.

Combine the sugar and lime zest and mix with your fingers until combined. Add this mix to the butter slowly, mixing until combined. Add vanilla.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and baking soda. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream, beating well after each addition. Stir in coconut by hand.

Spoon mixture into prepared pan and level with a spatula, if needed.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack.

Lime Glaze

1 c powdered sugar

5 tbsp heavy cream (or milk)

1/2 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 lime

Combine all ingredients, except milk. Add 1 tbsp milk at a time until you get the desired consistency (less milk for a thick, white glaze or more milk for a thinner glaze). Spoon over cooled cake.

Soy and Honey Marinated Flank Steak

I bought a BBQ recently and this was the first thing I made on it! I really enjoy flank steak- it's inexpensive, quick to prepare and you can use it on anything (steaks, fajitas, sandwiches, etc).

I found this recipe on a tried and true food blogging website, For The Love of Cooking. Anytime I'm looking for a recipe for something specific, I always go there first. Her food is easy and always delicious.

Soy and Honey Marinated Flank Steak

Adapted from For The Love of Cooking

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak

2 tbsp + 2 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients for the marinade into a large zip lock bag, add steak. Let steak sit in the marinade for 2 to 24 hours.

When ready to cook, remove the steak from the fridge for 30 minutes to come to room temperature. If you're grilling, cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or so on each side (I like medium well, so do less if you like more pink). If you're using a grill pan, it's roughly about the same amount of time. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting so the juices redistribute. Enjoy!

Fresh Peach Cake

One of my favorite things about summer is all the good fruit we get to eat! Peaches and nectarines being one of my very favorite. I'm all about desserts that involve fruit too. I'd much rather have a pie, cobbler or fruit based dessert than chocolate any day. Unless, it's fruit and chocolate... then I'm toast.

I made this for a family BBQ over the weekend and it was a huge hit! It's like a combination between a cobbler and a cake. Serve with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and you've got it made.

Fresh Peach Cake

Adapted from The Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1/4 lb butter, at room temperature (1 stick)

1 1/2 c sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 c sour cream, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 large ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

1/2 c chopped pecans (or any nut you like)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. (I don't have 9 inch sq, so I used a random one I had).

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of sugar for 3-5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixture on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until just combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches then sprinkle with two thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange remaining peaches on top and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture and pecans.

Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took about 60 min).

Enjoy!

I learned to pipe frosting!! Finally!!

You can call me Martha, Martha Stewart, that is. :)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

College football begins today. I'm headed to a BBQ at my friend Liz's and her husband is a huge Oregon Ducks fan. Although I'm not a Ducks fan, I am a fan of Liz, her new baby Jameson, and BBQ. Therefore, it should be a great time!

I wanted to make some treats to bring for the party and had a great idea to make them green and yellow, the Ducks colors. They came out so cute! I'm so excited to show up to the party with them!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from www.kevinandamanda.com

Ingredients

For the cookies:

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 white sugar

3/4 brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 c rolled oats

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 c chocolate chips

For the frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

4 c powdered sugar (maybe more to stiffen your frosting)

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp milk or heavy cream

Food coloring of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray (or regular sized muffin tins, if you wish).

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugars together. When light and fluffy, add the eggs and vanilla until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and oats. With the mixer on, add the dry ingredients in several batches. When combined, add the chocolate chips and mix by hand.

Spoon the cookie mixture into the muffin tins, about 1- 1 1/2 tsp a piece. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until you feel like they're done. While still hot, run a knife along the edge to loosen them. Let cool completely before icing them. To make a well in the center of the cookie for frosting, use the back of a spoon and press into the middle of the hot cookie.

To make the icing, in a mixer, combine all ingredients. You may need to use more powdered sugar to get a stiff icing for piping. If you want to pipe your frosting, put a sandwich bag in a glass measuring cup. Fold the edges of the plastic bag down around the cup so you've got sturdy grip on the glass. Spoon your frosting in, remove from glass, and push towards one of the bottom corners. With kitchen scissors, snip off an end and there you go! Pipe away!

Nutella Coffe Mug Cake

aka the easiest cake you'll ever make. Do you know what Nutella is? It's a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread. You'll love it!

My sister gave me the heads up on this recipe and it's awesome! All you have to do is put everything in a large coffee mug and microwave. Really! Wait til you see this...

Ingredients

4 tbsp flour

4 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp Nutella

1 egg

Mix all ingredients in a large coffee mug. Microwave for 1- 1 1/2 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave. Just keep an eye on it.

If I'd whipped cream I would have topped my individual cake with it, but alas, delicious chocolate cake will have to do... ;)

Taco Salads

The best thing about ordering a taco salad out is the crispy fried shell. However, it's not that good for you. Go figure... Anyway, I have found the solution!! I made my own crunchy taco shell 'bowl' and got all the satisfaction of a restaurant meal.

Here's what you need...

an empty tin can, rinsed and the paper removed

a tortilla

a baking sheet

Here's what you do...

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment or foil, if you'd like to. Place the tin can upside down on the baking sheet.

Microwave your tortilla for 10 seconds or so until its very pliable (read: bendy). Lay the tortilla on top of the can and sorta wrap it around the can. It won't stay put but you'll get a nice taco shell shape.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until crispy, not burnt so keep an eye on it. Enjoy!